A small collection of buildings sat on the edge of a large cliff. Around them was a collection of construction and terraforming vehicles preparing the sandy soil around them for farming. This settlement was one of many that surrounded the colony of New Madrid, one of many that would supply the produce that would make the colony profitable.

On the fields below the settlement stood three figures, each of them gazing in astonishment at the lights of the settlement up above them on the cliff. While the operations of getting it up and running were small in comparison to those that went into the construction of the colony proper, this was still the largest construction project that these men had ever seen.

“By the gods…look at all of those…” He looked to his compatriots. “What are those anyway?”

“I couldn’t begin to tell you Dvikin.” The leader of the trio stated.

“Who do you think is building this, Wahal?” The final member asked his leader

“Don’t know for sure.” Wahal stated, not taking his eyes off the clifftop. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, still resting in its scabbard at his hip. Everything about watching those mechanical monsters as they churned the dirt made him nervous. What would happen if they spotted him and his two companions? Would they attack? “Come. We must get back to Haltonreibe. The council will need to hear of this.”

July 22nd, 2562Colonial Administration BuildingNew Madrid

Mara Colts sat at her desk, going over the construction reports left over from the previous day. It was tedious work being Governor Volger’s Secretary, but it was a necessary job that needed doing. She would be happy to do it if only for the repetitive busywork it entailed. That said she had a second job, and not one the Mr. Volger knew of. Actually, she was probably the only person on this planet who knew what her second job was.

While she managed the Governor’s day-to-day activities she also kept her eyes open for any interesting developments on the colony that crossed her desk. Initially she was here to keep her eyes on the Sangheili, looking for any little slip up, any hint that the hinge-heads were planning something. But now new, more interesting developments were occurring across the colony.

Humans. Independent of the UNSC. And Aliens. Independent of the Covenant.

That was something that ONI would be interested in for sure. The UEG had only been here for a few days and already they’d found completely new civilizations. How much more did this planet want to hide?

That had lead to the most exciting development of all. Her orders had been changed. Now spying on the Sangheili was considered a secondary objective. The Primary Objective? Neutralizing the locals as a threat to the colony, by any means she deems fit.

Now before anyone starts raising a big stink about the wording, one should keep in mind that “neutralizing” could mean many things. It could of course mean fabricating intel that would force the local garrison to send in the troops and forcibly remove the threat by shooting anything and anyone with so much as a pointed stick for a weapon, but honestly that was a short-sighted mentality. No, she preferred to think long-term. After all, there were humans on planet, maybe of different ethnic groups than what she was used to, but that didn’t matter.

Right now, the UEG and Sanghelios shared equal power on the colony in terms of population, and so far the UEG was willing to play nice. ONI didn’t like that setup. The elites were coming out of a civil war, and they were going to recover and get back on their feet. She was willing to bet her bottom credit that the Elites were going to start acting aggressive again, many on Sangheilios were touchy about working with humans.

There would be power plays on and for this planet by both sides, and Mara was fixing to win the power grab before it began. The best way to do that? Take advantage of the free population the universe had practically gift-wrapped to them. So, if she could endear the UNSC to the locals and get their support…

But that was for the future, first she had to determine whether or not that was even possible. She had no idea of what their temperament was, what their belief systems, or even what their codes of ethics were. Essentially any diplomatic efforts would be done blind at this point, and drone overflights could only give them so much information, they needed boots on the ground.

She looked up from her computer at the ding of an elevator, the doors opening to reveal Governor Volger. His characteristic and ever present scowl was displayed almost proudly on his face as he stepped past her desk and towards his office. “Ms. Colts.” He greeted.

“Governor.” She replied as cheerily as she could.

The door shut behind him and Mara couldn’t help the feeling that the Governor’s reluctance to send out first-contact parties was costing the UNSC a potential boon. What they could do if only they could open diplomatic relations. Still it was out of her hands, all she could really do was wait for the opportunity to put her plan into motion.